Formula One Group (NASDAQ:FWONK) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Formula One Group (NASDAQ:FWONK) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $94.94, but opened at $89.47. Formula One Group shares last traded at $89.36, with a volume of 567,173 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($1.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($1.45). The company had revenue of $20.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on FWONK. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Formula One Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Formula One Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 target price on shares of Formula One Group in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Formula One Group from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Formula One Group from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gregory B. Maffei sold 35,463 shares of Formula One Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.53, for a total transaction of $2,536,668.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,240,785 shares in the company, valued at $88,753,351.05. The trade was a 2.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Formula One Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lountzis Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Formula One Group by 17.0% in the third quarter. Lountzis Asset Management LLC now owns 5,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the period. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Formula One Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $571,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Formula One Group by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Formula One Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $827,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Formula One Group by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 27,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,117,000 after purchasing an additional 3,958 shares during the last quarter. 92.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Formula One Group Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $94.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.12. The company has a market cap of $23.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.85 and a beta of 0.11.

Formula One Group Company Profile

Formula One Group, through its subsidiary Formula 1, engages in the motorsports business in the United States and internationally. The company holds commercial rights for the FIA Formula One world championship, approximately a nine-month long motor race-based competition in which teams compete for the constructors' championship and drivers compete for the drivers' championship.